EU-US Preparing Financial Aid for Ukraine

The European Union and the United States are planning a short-term financial assistance to Ukraine.

"The EU and the United States are developing a plan - a Ukrainian Plan, I have suggested they call it - that looks at what we need to do in different parts of the economy right now to make things better", EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told The Wall Street Journal.

Ukraine has been plagued with months of violent anti-government protests, which left a number of people dead in the capital Kiev. The protests began in November, after President Viktor Yanukovych backed out of a deal with the EU, instead seeking closer ties with Russia.

In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to give Ukraine a USD 15 B loan in the form of purchasing government bonds. However, following the resignation of PM Mykola Azarov, Moscow vowed to put the aid on hold, until a new government is formed.

In light of these events, the EU and the US are using the opportunity to push through their agenda and to bring Ukraine closer to the West once again.

Ashton said the amount of the proposed EU-US aid package had not yet been decided but revealed "the figures won't be small".

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